1. Field Of The Invention
The invention herein relates to an improved disposable tray liner for turkey poults or other animals which are contained in trays or cages, said liner comprising one or more layers of an expanded material such as paper which has been permanently affixed to a base sheet. The expanded material provides traction for the standing poults.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
Modern poultry hatcheries and farms utilize trays which are a convenient size for handling and use in, for example, incubators which may require trays sized approximately twenty-six (26) by twenty-eight (28) inches in length and width having walls of approximately four (4) inches in height. Disposable liners are placed on the inside bottoms of such trays to assist in maintenance and cleaning after use since the liners can be easily removed and incinerated. The liners maintain the eggs from rolling, therefore reducing breakage and as hatching occurs, the liners provide traction for the young birds. This is especially advantageous to turkey poults which are awkward and unsteady to a greater degree than young chickens since the poults are processed to include inoculation, debeaking and detoeing prior to being placed in trays for transportation to poultry farms where they are removed and raised to maturity. It is important that young birds and especially turkey poults maintain their footing during shipment so they arrive at the farms in excellent health. Blood and waste products are deposited in the trays during transportation which can cause a slick and unsanitary surface for the feet of the poults. Oftentimes poults that lose their footing and fall are trampled and pecked by other poults and oftentimes have to be destroyed.
Various types of tray liners have been employed in the past including liners made from paper, sponge rubber, excelsior and other materials, all having certain advantages and also which have certain disadvantages. For example, excelsior has often been used but it is more flammable than desired and due to its independent structural components it can be difficult to handle and contain. While removing used excelsior from trays, shards therefrom often stick to the tray bottoms and must be individually loosened and removed requiring additional time and labor. Synthetic foam materials have been affixed to paper underlayers and utilized to a limited degree but have not been satisfactory from a cost standpoint and for other reasons including excessive moisture retention.
Thus, with the known disadvantages of prior art tray liners, the present invention was developed and one of its objectives is to provide a lightweight, disposable tray liner for poultry which will assist the young birds in maintaining their footing as they are transported from hatcheries to farms.
It is also an objective of the invention to provide a tray liner which will trap down from freshly hatched birds in the incubators to prevent the down from becoming airborne upon drying.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a tray liner which is formed from an inexpensive material such as paper that is easily discarded and which will provide structural qualities necessary for safe and sanitary containment of the poults.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a method for forming a tray liner which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
Still another objective of the invention is to provide a high traction tray liner which is formed from two (2) layers of oppositely oriented expanded paper affixed to a flat base sheet.
Various other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the detailed explanation of the invention is presented below.